Chapter One: Introducing Government in America
OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
• Distinguish among the fundamental concepts of government, politics, and public policy
• Understand how government, politics, and public policy are inter-related
• Ascertain how people can influence the government's policy agenda
• Describe the basic concept of the policymaking system
• Determine the essential principles of traditional democratic theory
• Examine the three contemporary theories of American democracy: pluralism, elite and class theory, and
hyperpluralism
• Discuss and analyze the challenges to democracy presented in the text
• Understand the importance of individualism in limiting the scope of American government
• Begin to assess the two fundamental questions central to governing and that serve as the textbook's
themes:
• How should we govern?
• What should government do?
KEY TERMS
democracy
elite and class theory
policy agenda
policy gridlock
government
gross domestic product
policymaking institutions
policymaking system
hyperpluralism
political issue
political participation
individualism
linkage institutions
majority rule
minority rights
pluralist theory
public goods
public policy
representation
single-issue groups
referendum
politics
representative democracy
oligarchy
initiative
direct democracy
Chapter Two: The Constitution
OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
• Outline the events that led early Americans to declare independence from Britain
• Review the basic philosophy that underlies the Declaration
• Summarize the parallels between Locke and Jefferson
• Explain how the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation laid the groundwork for the Constitution
• Describe what Madison meant by 'factions' and how he proposed to solve the problems presented by them
• Evaluate how the Constitutional Convention dealt with issues of equality
• Summarize the major compromises of the Constitutional Convention
• Explain why economic issues were so high on the agenda at the Constitutional Convention and how the
Framers tried to strengthen the economic powers of the new national government
• Demonstrate what we mean by the "Madisonian model" and how it is incorporated within the Constitution
• Understand why many critics of the Madisonian model argue it reduces efficiency in government
• Describe the differences between Federalist and Anti-Federalist in the debates over the ratification of the
Constitution
• Ascertain how constitutional changes - formal and informal - continue to shape and alter the Madisonian
system
• Evaluate the Constitution in terms of the theme of democracy that runs throughout the chapter
• Identify factors that have led to a gradual democratization of the Constitution
• Understand how the Constitution affects the scope of government in America
KEY TERMS
AntiFederalists
Articles of
Confederation
Bill of
Rights
Checks and
balances
Connecticut
Compromise
Consent of the
governed
Republic
Constitution
Judicial
review
Declaration of
Independence
Limited
government
Shays' Rebellion
Equal Rights
Amendment
Marbury v.
Madison
U.S.
Constitution
Factions
Natural rights
Virginia Plan
Federalist
Papers
Federalists
New Jersey
Plan
Writ of habeas
corpus
Separation of
powers
Chapter Three: Federalism
OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
• Describe the three basic forms of governmental structures: federalism, unitary, and confederacy
• Identify the ways in which the Constitution determines the powers of state and national governments
• Evaluate how contrasting interpretations of the supremacy clause and the Tenth Amendment lead to
divergent views of the scope of state and national powers
• Explain the tension between the federal and state governments. Consider the role of categorical grants
and unfunded mandates. Consider the role of public policy debates like same-sex marriage, clean air and
business taxes.
• Describe how the Supreme Court set forth the principle of implied powers in the McCulloch v. Maryland
case
• Understand the relationship of implied powers to enumerated powers
• Describe how the Civil War and the civil rights movement contributed to the development of national
supremacy over the states
• List and analyze the clauses in the Constitution that define the obligations that each state has to every
other state
• Trace the ways in which American federalism has changed over the past two centuries
• Compare the contrasting forms of dual federalism and cooperative federalism
• Describe what is meant by fiscal federalism and assess the role that federal money plays in state policies
• Identify the positive and negative effects American federalism has on democracy
KEY TERMS
Block
grants
Gibbons v. Ogden
Extradition
Implied
powers
Categorical grants
Federalism
Cooperative
federalism
Enumerated powers
Supremacy clause
Fiscal
federalism
Intergovernmental
relations
Tenth
Amendment
Formula grants
McCulloch v.
Maryland
Unitary government
Dual federalism
Elastic
clause
Project
grant
Full faith and
credit
Privileges and
immunities
picket fence
federalism
Unfunded mandate
Chapter Six: Public Opinion and Political Action
OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
• Contrast the relative positions of African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and Native
Americans in the US political and economic spheres
• Identify the political implications of an increasingly elderly population
• Describe the process of political socialization and identify the primary agents of socialization
• Outline the components that are essential if one wants to obtain accuracy in public opinion polling
• Evaluate the role of polls in US democracy
• Identify the political beliefs that are likely to be preferred by liberals and conservatives
• Identify the activities that encompass political participation in the US
• Distinguish between conventional and unconventional types of political participation
• Show how nonviolent civil disobedience was one of the most effective techniques of the civil rights
movement in the US south
• Explain what political scientists mean when they conclude that Americans are ideological conservatives
but operational liberals
- What are the methods of determining public opinion outside of polling? What are their weaknesses?
KEY TERMS
Census
Political
ideology
Political participation
Civil disobedience
Protest
Demography
Public opinion
Exit poll
Gender
gap
Melting pot
Random digit
dialing
Random sampling
Reapportionment
Minority
majority
Political culture
Sample
Sampling error
Chapter Seven: Mass Media & the Political Agenda
OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
• Trace the development of the mass media and the way in which presidents have used the media in
different periods of US history
• Describe the major sources that people rely on for their information about politics
• Determine how journalists define what is newsworthy, where they get their information, and how they
present it
• Explain the role that the profit motive plays in decisions by the mass media on how to report the news
• Examine and analyze the charge that the media have a liberal, or conservative, bias
• Identify factors that would explain why the news is typically characterized by political neutrality
• Determine methods used by political activists to get their ideas placed high on the governmental agenda
• Clarify how the media act as key linkage institutions between the people and the policymakers
• Describe how the rise of television broadcasting has encouraged individualism - and conformity - in the
US political system
• Explain why the rise of the "information society" has not brought about a corresponding rise of an
"informed society"
• Summarize how the news and its presentation are important influences in shaping public opinion on
political issues
• Examine the new possibilities that the internet is having on the media and on the political process,
including elections, information gathering and dissemination, and activation
KEY TERMS
Beats
Media
event
Broadcast media
Narrowcasting
Print media
Sound
bites
Chains
High-tech politics
Investigative
journalism
Mass media
Policy
agenda
Policy entrepreneurs
Press
conferences
Talking head
Trial
balloons
Webmaster
Chapter Eight: Political Parties
OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
• Understand the roles of the party-in-the-electorate, the party as an organization, and the party-ingovernment
• Examine how political parties in a democracy serve as key linkage institutions to translate inputs from the
public into outputs from the policymakers
• Describe Anthony Downs' rational-choice theory as a working model of the relationship among citizens,
parties, and policy
• Trace the historical development of the US two-party system
• Examine the significance of divided government and explain how the recent pattern of divided
government may explain party dealignment
• Differentiate between the ideology or party philosophy of the Democratic and Republican parties
• Explain how electoral rules such as the 'winner-take-all' plurality system have helped to maintain a twoparty system in the US
• Evaluate the impact of third parties on US politics and the US party system
• Describe the consequences or effects of the US two-party system as contrasted with a multi-party system
• Understand the significance of the weak and decentralized character of the US party system
• Describe what problems occur with increased party strength
KEY TERMS
blanket
primaries
national committee
representation
party image
national
convention
coalition
party
machine
rational-choice
theory
New Deal coalition
coalition
governments
open
primaries
closed primaries
party competition
critical
election
party
dealignment
responsible party
model
party neutrality
party
realignment
third parties (minor
parties)
patronage
ticket-splitting
(split ticket voting)
political
party
winner-take-all
system
proportional
unified government
divided government
linkage institutions
party eras
national
chairperson
party
identification
Chapter Nine: Nominations and Campaigns
OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
• Describe the role of campaign strategy in winning a nomination to elective office.
• Describe and evaluate the caucus and primary methods of delegate selection.
• Contrast the American primary system of nomination with those of other nations such as Great Britain.
• Trace the historical evolution of national party conventions as nominating vehicles for presidential
candidates.
• Consider the ways that high-tech campaigning has changed the nature of American politics.
• Examine the growth of PACs and their impact on modern campaigning.
• Assess the crucial role of money and technology in American campaign organizations.
• Analyze the role the media play in influencing the style and substance of presidential campaigns.
• Discuss the three effects that campaigns have on voters: reinforcement,
conversion.
activation, and
• Evaluate whether the “openness” of the American style of campaigning leads to a more democratic
system of government.
• Assess whether or not American presidential elections lead to an increased scope of government.
KEY TERMS
campaign
strategy
national party
convention
soft money
caucus
national primary
superdelegates
direct
mail
nomination
527 groups
party platform
McCain-Feingold
provisions
Federal Election Campaign
Act
Federal Election Commission
(FEC)
frontloading
matching
funds
Political Action Committee
(PAC)
Presidential Election
Campaign Fund
presidential
primaries
regional primaries
McGovern-Fraser
Commission
selective
perception
501(b) and (c) groups
valence
issues
OpenSecrets.org
hard money
independent expenditures
Buckley v. Valeo
Chapter Ten: Elections and Voting Behavior
OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
• Explain how elections provide regular access to political power and how the process is related to the level
of political legitimacy.
• Describe procedures that permit voters to enact legislation directly, such as the
petition, and referendum.
initiative,
• Trace the historical evolution of the American stye of campaigning from 1800
to 2004.
• Identify the characteristics of voters and nonvoters.
• Explore the reasons why voter turnout has actually declined as the right to vote was extended to new
groups.
• Ascertain the role that voter registration procedures and requirements have played in structuring voter
turnout.
• Explain why party identification is crucial for many voters and review the decline of party affiliation
since the 1950’s.
• Identify the conditions that must be present for true policy voting to occur.
• Outline the procedures of the electoral college and compare the present system with the process that was
envisioned by the framers of the Constitution.
• Understand the tasks that elections accomplish, according to democratic theory.
• Establish how elections may affect public policy and how public policy may affect elections.
• Analyze how elections influence the scope of government in a democracy.
KEY TERMS
apathy
efficacy
Civic duty
Electoral college
Initiative Petition
Policy voting
Political efficacy
Referendum
Legitimacy
Mandate theory of elections
Motor Voter Act
Retrospective voting
Suffrage
Voter registration
Chapter Eleven: Interest Groups
OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
• Distinguish the essential differences between interest groups and political parties.
• Understand 3 basic theories of interest group politics: pluralist theory, elite theory, and hyperpluralist
theory.
• Determine the factors that tend to make an interest group successful.
• Differentiate between a potential group and an actual group, and determine how the free rider problem
applies.
• Explain how interest groups try to shape public policy and how lobbyists represent interest groups in
influencing the legislative agenda.
• Describe various types of interest groups.
•
Explain why the authors of the textbook say that the problems of honest lobbying now appear to
outweigh the traditional problems of dishonest lobbying.
• Summarize the implications for the size of government that are generated by the power of PACs and
special interest groups.
• Analyze the appropriate role of interest groups within a democratic environment.
KEY TERMS
Actual
group
Public interest lobbies
Hyperpluralist
theory
Amicus curiae
briefs
Interest groups
Class action lawsuits
Lobbying
Collective
good
Olson’s law of large
groups
Pluralist theory
Right to work
law
Selective
benefits
Single-issue groups
Electioneering
PAC’s
Subgovernments
Union
shop
Elite theory
Free-rider
problem
Potential
group
Iron triangles